A Losing Bet
by ReaderWriter93
Summary: Andrea Dennington is a mischievious, muggle-born American witch at Hogwarts. On a whim, she decides to give Draco Malfoy a taste of his own medicine. The final showdown is a drinking contest and an interesting bet: If he wins, she'll be out of his hair for good... But if he loses, he has to spend his entire summer holiday with her in Alabama.
1. First Impressions

Andrea Dennington looked around at the motley crew of students that filled the room. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins were all present, as well as her own housemates from Ravenclaw. They coexisted here on the basis of an honor-amongst-thieves type of arrangement, as they all knew that using the Room of Requirement to host drinking parties was worth more than a month of scrubbing floors with Filch. She observed Fred and George relentlessly egging on a third-year to chug an entire bottle of Firewhiskey in one go. The poor boy was about halfway through and he looked quite sick, so she sauntered over and snatched the bottle from his hand.

"What's the big idea?" Fred whined.

"Yeah, we were just trying to teach the ways of a grown man; what's the- Bloody hell, woman!" George watched in shock as she downed the second half of the bottle. "You _do _know that's a tad stronger than pumpkin juice, don't you?"

She slammed the bottle on the table pointedly and shrugged. "I like to drink." She chuckled inwardly at the several shocked faces that were now turned her way.

"A lady shouldn't be _capable _of drinking like that, let alone making a show of it…" Pansy Parkinson sniffed.

"That is no lady, Pansy. I heard she came from a different country where liquor comes out of the faucets. She's probably the latest in a long line of boozehounds, if I had to guess." Malfoy sneered, taking a sip from his own glass. Pansy attempted to take his hand, but he waved her away. "Not now! I can't think with you touching me!" Andrea laughed and shook her head. The boy had always been an ass, and adding alcohol to the situation definitely _wasn't _making things better.

Her friend Cho noticed her watching the pair bickering back and forth, and wrinkled up her nose. "Those two are awful. Someone needs to set them right one of these days." She sat down on a stool and twiddled her thumbs.

_I don't even know why she comes to these things with me, _Andy thought. She had literally never seen the girl drink, and Cho always seemed so awkward when she tagged along to parties like these. _Just so I won't have to be the Lone Ranger, I guess._ Nonetheless, she was thankful to have her only friend joining her. They had met on the train their first year, and since Cho came from an Asian family and Andy was American, they became an unlikely pair on the common ground that their cultures were a tad different than everyone else's. Aside from that, they really didn't have anything in common, but they complimented each other well as Cho's kindness always seemed to be able to clean up the many messes Andy made. She playfully socked her in the arm. "Lighten up. It's always fun to witness the shenanigans around here, even if you're not participating. In fact," she added mischieviously, "Why don't I go stir some up right now? Do you dare me to go talk to the ferret?"

Cho's dark eyes widened. She knew that look. "No… That's not necessary… Don't do that…" But it was too late. The girl had made up her mind and was already walking towards the den of vipers. "Please don't make a scene!" she called after her.

"Don't worry, I'll be nice," Andy said with a wink, barely pausing to turn her head as she continued on her mission. She stopped right in front of the table where the blonde and his skeletal girlfriend were sitting. "Hi," she said cordially.

"What are you doing here, Dennington? Looking to snatch my drink as well? You'd think you'd try to stay away from alcohol; don't need anything making your blood any dirtier than it already is." Malfoy smirked, his eyes suspicious. She was a notorious troublemaker, and she never talked to anyone other than the Chang girl without a reason. He deduced that it definitely wasn't a good sign that she was acting like it was perfectly normal for her to be strolling up to him and saying hello. What's more, she had no reaction to his insult. She just stood there, smiling away, encroaching on his breathing space with her Muggle germs. He began to get frustrated. "Didn't you hear me, bitch? You're a Mudblood!" Pansy gave a nod of agreement.

Yet again, she showed no sign of being offended by the remark. She even looked a bit amused, as if they were playing some sort of game. Her golden eyes flickered as she tilted her head to one side. "You know, Malfoy, a little bit of dirt never hurt anyone." She then levitated the glass of firewhiskey from the table and turned it upside down, spilling its contents all over him. As a final point, the glass also fell and bounced off his head with a loud _thunk._ "And I don't want your drink. You're not fit to drink after." With that, she casually walked away without giving him a chance to reply. Everyone in the room was laughing and a few were even brave enough to cheer.

"I'm not… _I'm _not fit to… Why, that filthy little…" Draco was furious at this point. He flew up from his chair and cast his best stinging hex at the back of her head.

Bad move; she had expected that. "_Protego." _The hex bounced off her shield, hitting him square in the face. This sent the laughter into an uproar as he shrieked and covered his face in his hands. As much as she wanted to catch a glimpse of the school bully tearing his eyes out, she resisted the urge to turn her head and look. _Wouldn't have the same theatrical flair, _she decided. Instead, she calmly collected Cho and proceeded to leave the Room of Requirement, receiving a round of raucous applause on her way out.


	2. A Polite Confrontation

_Of all the stupid, insolent, mudblooded pieces of shit… _Draco Malfoy was livid as he tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn't sleep, not while that bitch was alive. How _dare _she make a fool of him in front of an entire room of people? He replayed the events over and over in his mind. The worst part was how everyone had laughed at him; it was as if in that moment, he hadn't just failed to intimidate her. He had lost his power over _all _the other students, and that was something he simply couldn't tolerate. _I have to come up with a plan, _he reasoned. _I won't have any respect around here until I've put Dennington in her place. _His mind swirled with different nefarious plots. Maybe he would turn her into a toad and keep her as a pet. Perhaps he would concoct some vile potion with horrible effects and force her to drink it while everyone was watching. He comforted himself with several different revenge scenarios before finally drifting off to sleep.

The next day at breakfast, he surveyed his new enemy. She couldn't even have a conversation with Chang for all the people stopping to shake her hand, presumably congratulating her for her conquest of the great Draco Malfoy. It was disgusting.

"Is it true?" Blaise Zabini asked, looking at him quizzically.

"What?"

"Is it true that the black-haired girl over there dropped a drink on your head last night?" He said, raising an eyebrow as if it should have been obvious.

"Does the whole bloody school know about that by now?" Malfoy snapped, a pang of embarrassment hitting him. "She got lucky; I was too drunk to defend myself properly," he lied. Blaise just nodded silently. "In fact, I'm going to walk over there right now and confront her about it." He stood from the table and made his way over to where she was sitting.

Chang's eyes widened at the sight of him approaching. At least she was still afraid of him. Her friend, however, simply smiled as if he were a long-lost family member that had come in for a visit. "Well hey there. What brings the great Draco Malfoy before our undeserving eyes?" She rose from the table and gave a mock curtsey. "How may I be of assistance, sir?"

"I just wanted you to know that I have not forgotten what happened last night, and that there will be severe retaliation for your unladylike behavior." He looked at her sternly, using the trademark Malfoy glare that caused others to cower in fear. This particular girl, however, rolled her eyes and snorted.

"My _unladylike behavior, _he says. That is great." She shook her head and laughed before meeting his eyes again. "You're hardly an expert on manners yourself; didn't anyone ever tell you that it is incredibly rude to hex someone in the back?"

"He _attempted _to hex you in the back. And failed miserably at it, might I add," one of the first-years interjected. Malfoy silenced him with a pointed stare.

"Listen, Dennington. You are trying my patience. I would have been willing to let this go, were it not for your blatant disregard for the seriousness of the situation. Mudbloods can't just run about humiliating respectable men such as myself and then laughing about it later as if they've won some kind of prize."

Andy held her hand up to her mouth as if stifling a yawn. "Are you done yet?"

He was growing angrier by the second. _This woman has absolutely no sense of self-preservation, _he thought. "Have it your way. But if I were you I'd be watching my back." He jabbed her in the collarbone to further emphasize his point.

She smoothed out her shirt and frowned for a moment. This was the first rise he'd gotten out of her thus far, and he relished it. It lasted only for a moment before her features snapped back into a smirk. "I think I've proven to be quite proficient at watching my back."

Several other students snickered at this, and Malfoy immediately regretted his choice of words. Exasperated, he turned on his heel and left the Great Hall.

Andy watched him until he disappeared into one of the hallways. Once he was gone, she turned to Cho, who was fidgeting around nervously with the sleeve of her robe. "Well, time to get to potions…"

"Yes, Andy. Potions with _Draco Malfoy, _who you singlehandedly managed to piss off a second time! I can't believe you… I _cannot _believe you… This is going to be terrible…" Her face collapsed into her hands.

"Oh, come on. Do you really think the snake bites as hard as he wants us to think he does? Besides, he's going to be after me, not you. Now let's get to class before Snape makes us wash his hair or something."

Cho groaned loudly into her hands, but stood up and followed her friend down the hall. When they reached the dungeons, she waited to make sure Malfoy had entered the potions classroom before walking in herself. She didn't want to risk having to pass him, not with the especially terrible mood he was in. Watching him knock a boy's books out of his hands proved to her that it had been a wise decision. She slid into her seat as unobtrusively as possible. Andy, however, seemed to be taking pleasure in tossing her belongings on the desk as loudly as she could before plopping down into her chair, her eyes on Malfoy the entire time.


	3. Adding to the Fire

"Turn to page three hundred ninety four… Find ingredients for a basic Fire Protection Spell… Be especially careful with the Bursting Mushrooms… Showing you the proper way to disarm them…" Professor Snape continued droning on. Until she had met Snape, Andy never knew it was possible for a monotone to sound sinister. She could never focus on what he was saying for very long because his voice reminded her of a depressed Alan Rickman. Not that it was really necessary to pay attention today. She frequently had to make Black Fire Potion for her housemates because she had a nasty habit of catching things on fire by accident when she was upset. She herself was impervious to fire; she had been blessed with the ability to create and control heat and flames. She'd always assumed she was born with it, because she couldn't remember a time in her life when she hadn't been able to light candles with the tip of her finger. It usually came in handy, especially when she wanted to freak someone out, but occasionally it would get out of hand. One time, she had gotten in a huge fight with Penelope Clearwater while they were unpacking and had sent her entire trunk of belongings up in flames. Professor Flitwick had been able to recover them, thank goodness, but Penny didn't speak to her for a month after that.

Andy tore herself away from the memory of Penelope's smoldering suitcase and decided to focus on her next move with Malfoy instead. It was going to be hard to get away with anything in this class because he was pretty much Snape's pet. She surveyed the classroom, looking for anything she could do to make him miserable. There wasn't much to see, aside from Pansy staring over at him dreamily with her head in her hands. _That's it!_ She took out her quill and started to scribble a note.

_Pansy,_

_I have something very important to tell you. Meet me in the common room after dinner._

_ Your lover,_

_ Draco_

She waited until Snape turned his back and levitated it over to Pansy's desk, hoping and praying that the girl didn't know what Draco's handwriting actually looked like. _Probably not, _she guessed. _He doesn't strike me as the lette_r-_writing type. _

Pansy wrinkled up her nose at the parchment before reading it. She let out an audible gasp, and scribbled out a reply, which Andy promptly intercepted.

_Drakey-Poo,_

_Of course I'll meet you! I'm so excited to hear what you have to say! Hopefully it has something to do with how you've always secretly loved me and were only pushing me away because you were grumpy._

_ Your Delicate Flower,_

_ Pansy_

Gross. Pansy was the kind of desperate that went for the worst man out of the worst kind of men. Andy might have felt sorry for her if she weren't such a snob. For the moment, she just set back to absentmindedly pouring salamander blood into her cauldron and stirring it, glad her plan was in action. She would look over from time to time to see Pansy making bedroom eyes at Malfoy, who looked rather confused. She chuckled. _ I'd like to be a fly on the wall of the Slytherin common room tonight…_

Charms, Divination, and Defense Against the Dark Arts all went well, but they melted into a blur. She was far too occupied with her latest conquest. She had what her brother Stan called "a destructive single-minded determination" and that was precisely the reason she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until Draco Malfoy was sufficiently miserable. As she changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth for the night, she ached to know what was going on in the Slytherin common room.

"I wonder how Pansy and Malfoy are getting along tonight," she wondered aloud.

Cho rolled onto her stomach in the bed next to her. "I dunno. If I had to guess, it's probably business as usual with her pawing all over him while he scowls and swats at her."

"Oh, you have no idea," Andy giggled.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in the ferret's love life, anyway? Wait a second…" Cho's eyes narrowed as she tossed her black hair to one side. "You didn't _do _something to one of them, did you?" She peered over suspiciously at Andy, who was grinning but silent. "Andrea Dennington, if you slipped one of them a love potion and Malfoy storms up here in the morning for your head on a silver platter, don't expect me to come to your res-"

"No love potion, I swear."

"Oh, thank goodness."

"However, I _may _have passed Pansy a note in Malfoy's name saying to meet him in the common room tonight so he could tell her some big news about their relationship." She ducked behind her bed to avoid the pillow Cho had thrown at her face.

"You did _what?!_ Andy, you can't just go playing practical jokes on the richest and most hateful person in Hogwarts and expect to get away with it! He's already planning to murder you after what happened last night, and you feel the need to push your luck even farther? I don't even know how I stand you sometimes."

Andy threw the pillow back onto Cho's bed. "Oh, admit it. You always said you wanted your life to be more interesting."

"Interesting, yes. But this is just plain dangerous. Anyway, goodnight, you reckless loon."

"Goodnight, you hopelessly good-natured prude."

The girls laughed for a moment before settling in to sleep.


	4. A Rude Awakening

"Andy, get up."

"Mehhhhhhhh…" Andy groaned. "It's not time yet."

"GET UP!" Cho smacked her in the back of the head with a rolled up piece of parchment. Malfoy has been standing in the corridor for the last half hour demanding to see you, and you're crazy if you think I'm going out there to talk to him."

"Ugh… Fine…" She rolled out of bed and made her way to the door, still in her pajamas. A seething platinum blonde was outside to greet her, his arms folded across his chest. "What do you want?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Pansy Parkinson was falling all over me last night, prattling on about some letter I supposedly passed her, saying that she wanted to know my big secret or something like that. I'm assuming it had something to do with you." His grey eyes were focused on her so coldly that it seemed like he was attempting to stare a hole through her brain.

"Oh, yeah. That." She stretched her arms above her head and tried to wake herself up more fully. "I was just trying to save your relationship. It doesn't seem to be going so well, from what I can see," she said as innocently as possible.

"That's because there _isn't _one! I can't stand to have her hounding me all the time, and you've only made it worse!" Even in her half-conscious state, he could tell that she had known exactly what she had been doing. Overcome with anger and frustration, he took her by the shoulders and pinned her to the wall roughly. "I am going to ask you _one more time _to get your mudblood nose out of my life." His voice was quiet but sinister. "Do you understand me?"

"Please take your hands off me." Andy tried to keep her voice calm. He had startled her, and the longer he stood touching her, the angrier she got.

"Don't tell me what to do! For the past two days, you have been doing everything in your power to make me miserable, and I will not take orders from a mudblood!"

She could feel her skin growing hotter with each passing second as she lost her temper. "I'm serious… It's not that I care what you do, but-"

"OW!" He pulled his hands away from her sharply. Andy could see blisters starting to form on his palms, and immediately felt guilty. "What have you done to me?" A look of fear spread across his face.

"That's what I was talking about. I'm really sorry; I can't help it. When I get upset, I just…" She rubbed her temples and sighed. "I've got some burn healing paste in my dresser. I'll be right back." With that, she disappeared back into the dorm.

Draco could have run to Professor Flitwick and tried to get her put in detention, but for some reason he just stood there in the corridor waiting. He reasoned that things wouldn't go in his favor with Flitwick, considering he had been the one manhandling a lady. After a moment, she popped back out of the door with a little jar in one hand. "Let me see," she said quietly, her eyes down. She reached out to touch one of his hands; he recoiled for a moment, but the pain in his hands finally convinced him to comply. "That's nasty. I'm really sorry," she added as she smeared the stuff into his palms.

The situation was so strange that Draco could hardly wrap his mind around it. Wincing as the skin of his hands repaired itself, he tried to comprehend what had happened. "It's fine. I shouldn't have forgotten my manners," he replied. The phrase sounded so pathetic coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. She had frightened all the surliness out of him. "What _was _that?"

Andy closed the jar of paste and nervously rocked back and forth on her heels. "I just… Have outbursts like that sometimes. When I get fired up… I really get fired up. In my defense, I tried to warn you." He nodded dumbly. They stood there in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to say. "Your hands are fine now. You should get back to whatever it was you were doing before you came up here to harass me." She smirked a little bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"What? Uh… Yeah. Right." He smoothed out his robes. "I'll be seeing you around, mudblood."

She let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Is that the only thing you can come up with?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ever since I got on your bad side, it's been 'mudblood this' and mudblood that,' occasionally peppered by you just _insinuating _that I am, in fact, a mudblood. I think you called me a mudblood _bitch _one time, but that was the only break in the monotony. I was just thinking, you know, that maybe you could come up with a couple more colorful insults, kind of spice it up a little."

His brow furrowed. "What are you playing at?"

"In short, you're starting to bore me," she said simply. "I feel like you're not putting any effort into this little rivalry we've got going on." She said it as if she was slightly insulted by his lack of enthusiasm.

Draco scoffed. _She's insane. _"I'll get right on that, Dennington. In the meantime, why don't you get back in your common room and get dressed so you don't look like such a troll." He then turned his back on her and walked down the hall.

He watched her from across the room at breakfast; she spent most of it arguing with Chang about something over their plates of scrambled eggs. Whatever it was, it was clear that she thought it was hilarious while her friend did not. Paying closer attention, he could hear bits and pieces of their conversation, making out the words _grabbed, burned, troll, _and _scuttled off, _followed by _really big trouble, don't know what you're getting into, _and _come after you. _He assumed that they were talking about what had happened that morning, and Chang was worried about him cooking up a plot to do something awful in reciprocation. That honestly wasn't a bad idea; if he could cause some havoc in her life, then they would be even, and perhaps she would learn her lesson and leave him alone. As far as she was concerned, this was some kind of game. Maybe it was something people in America did for fun, starting feuds with each other until one of the parties involved gave up. That was the only explanation he had for her strange behavior. When she'd burned him earlier in the morning, she had seemed truly penitent about it. So, despite her obvious distaste for him, it was obvious that she didn't mean him any real harm. Was she irritating? Yes. But she wasn't malicious. Draco found this puzzling.

He spent the duration of potions class watching her particularly closely, trying to make sure she didn't have a mind to pull another one of her tricks. As far as he could tell, she wasn't up to anything, but he couldn't be sure as he could only see her black bun bouncing around on the back of her head as she stirred her cauldron. When the class was over, she tossed a piece of parchment at him on her way out.

_Captain Ferret,_

_ Cho has been relentlessly hounding me to apologize to you for the Pansy thing, and she's decided she won't talk to me until I do. I'm really not sorry about that because I personally thought it was hilarious, but I hope you understand my predicament. Meet me in the library after dinner._

_ Signed,_

_ The Troll_

Her small, delicate cursive handwriting was elegant but difficult to read. After weighing the pros and cons of a forced apology from his new nemesis against another evening of Pansy fawning over him, he decided to go with the former. At least Andy understood that he couldn't stand her. He spent the rest of the day trying to think of a few good insults, remembering her comment from earlier.


	5. Forced Apologies

Malfoy pushed Pansy away for the twenty-third time since they'd sat down for dinner. She was still pleading for him to tell her his _big secret,_ and every time she mentioned it, he thought about how harsh he was going to be with Andy when he saw her. There had been irreparable damage done here, and that neurotic broad just sat around and laughed about it. He couldn't stand it. She was a mystery to him, and he was the kind of person who hated anything he couldn't understand. To be fair, he also hated most of the things he _did _understand, but that was neither here nor there.

He ate his baked ham as quickly as he could before prying himself away from his would-be lover. As he made his way to the library, he wondered if he would be turning up too early. He wasn't too crazy about the idea of getting there before her, because he detested waiting and didn't want to give her the impression that he was excited about their little get-together. He wanted everything he did to call attention to the fact that she was beneath him, that she was not worth his time, that she was nothing. Maybe then she'd decide she shouldn't talk to him anymore.

To his surprise, when he stepped into the library, there she was. She was tapping her foot and it was apparent that she hadn't noticed him. She was a pretty girl, though he would never have told her that, and as she fidgeted around in the Magical Creatures section, the little bit of light from the lamps caught her face and she almost looked sweet. He rejected this thought the moment it crossed his mind. _There is absolutely nothing sweet about that woman, _he thought. _She's a rotten egg with a pretty shell. _Approaching her from behind, he took out his wand and poked her gently in the shoulder. "Dennington? I'm here."

She turned around and raised an eyebrow at the wand he had used to touch her. "Somebody's paranoid. I asked you here to apologize, not to challenge you to a duel."

He tucked the wand back into his belt, suddenly feeling silly. "Didn't want to risk another of your episodes. You're quite the dangerous witch, it would seem."

"Oh, you have no idea. This morning was just the tip of the iceberg. If you get me _really _pissed off, I start shooting lasers out of my eyes." She giggled at her own joke. Malfoy didn't know what a laser was, but he'd be damned if he was going to ask her. He just nodded his head and pretended to understand. "Anyway, I brought you here to apologize, so I guess that's what I'll do." Andy took a deep breath before continuing. "I am sorry I dropped firewhiskey on your head. I'm also sorry that I wounded your insurmountable ego, and that I sent a letter to your stalker which gave her false hope for your life together. So there. Are we cool now?" It was clear her heart wasn't in this; she reminded him of a small child forced to make amends with a sibling.

"You forgot to apologize for the glass the firewhiskey came in." He raised an eyebrow as if to chastise her.

She sighed. "Right… How careless of me. I apologize for bonking you on the head with a glass."

"And the stinging hex…"

"No apologies there, mister. That part you brought on yourself." She crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue at him.

He laughed out loud at her juvenile display. Nonetheless, she was right. He had been the one to cast the hex and not even he could fault her for defending herself. "Well, then. I suppose that about covers it. You are free to go, Miss Dennington." He gave her a small nod and turned to exit the library.

"What's this, no mudblood comment?" she called after him. "What a change of pace."

"I've been thinking of better insults, just like you said. When I come up with a really awful one, I'll let you know." He winked at her before disappearing into the hallway.

Andy shrugged and walked back to Ravenclaw Tower. _Guess I'm growing on him._

"Cho? Hey. Cho." Andy bumped shoulders with the petite girl, who looked up at her expectantly. "I apologized to Captain Ferret, just like you said. Can we start talking again now?" Cho's eyes narrowed. "I really did! I'm not lying to you. That's where I just came from. He met me in the library. I think we might even be friends now."

"You? Friends with the Albino Demon Hamster?" Cho snorted. "I don't believe it."

Andy pointed at her gleefully. "HA! You talked. And seriously. He even said he was going to start insulting me better." She tossed back her shoulders in triumph.

"Oh, yeah. That's some grade-A friendliness there. 'I'm going to make sure I save my absolute best insults for you,'" She said, imitating Malfoy's snotty voice. "'And whenever I have the option of belittling you or someone else, I'll choose you every time.'"

Andy was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. "Stop it!" she managed to choke out between giggles. "You sound just like him! Oh my gosh, STOP!"

Cho's face was now twisted up into a perfect replica of the infamous Malfoy scowl, plunging her friend into another fit of laughter. After a moment, her features relaxed and she was herself again. "I'm serious, though. This whole... _thing_… That you two have got going… He's so vile, and you're so _you, _and it's just a recipe for disaster." She flipped through her charms textbook as she spoke, though she didn't really seem to be reading anything.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you keep provoking him, he's bound to retaliate. And his idea of a joke probably isn't as harmless as yours."

"Just call me the snake charmer, baby. I've got this under control." She chuckled slightly at her own arrogance while Cho rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's about time he comes up with something. It's not fair that I get to have all the fun."


	6. The Mysterious Package

A few days passed without incident; Andy hadn't seen Malfoy since her apology in the library, aside from Potions class and the few times per day they would pass each other in the halls. As strange as it was, she almost felt like she missed him. There was nothing to _do _without him around. She just dragged herself out of bed every morning, went to her classes, and then crawled back into bed at night. Where was the _excitement? _Where was the _conflict? _Cho noticed her moping around and made every effort to cheer her up, but there was no way she could replace the rush of energy that came from good old antagonism.

Just when she was about to claw her own eyes out from boredom, she awoke one morning to find a package on her nightstand. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with a piece of twine. There was a card attached, but the only thing written on it was her name, staring up at her in green ink. _Where did this come from? _She wondered. She didn't have any admirers: she knew that for a fact. Due to her abrasive nature, most men headed for the hills at the mere mention of her name. Not that she minded, of course. They couldn't take the heat so they stayed out of the kitchen, so to speak, which was perfectly fine with her. She couldn't be bothered to waste her time with someone who didn't understand her; when a man who was up to the challenge of her mischievous ways finally did come along, he would make sure she knew it. However, that didn't make the mystery of this strange package any easier to solve.

"What's in the box?" Cho asked as she folded her collar down over her blue necktie.

"Don't know. Haven't opened it."

"Who's it from?"

"Doesn't say." She pulled the card out from beneath the string and flipped it over, hoping maybe it would have more information on the back. It didn't. Shrugging, she ripped the package open to find a wooden jewelry box with the inscription _Something More Colorful for You. _She opened the box to find what looked like multicolored alfredo noodles stuffed inside. She untangled a blue one and inspected it. It was a long strip of satin.

_ "_It's a box of hair ribbons," Cho stated. "Here, turn around." She twisted Andy's long, dark hair into its usual bun before tying the blue ribbon around it. She gasped.

"What's the matter?"

"You've got… Umm… Go look in the mirror."

Andy obliged, puzzled. As she looked into her reflection, she noticed a cluster of blue letters hovering above her head. _lliG-trilF dedaeH-elteeB ygnopS._ She couldn't read what it said because it was all backwards in the mirror. She turned to Cho. "What does it say?"

_"Spongy, Beetle-Headed Flirt-Gill," _she read with a giggle. "My guess is that somebody doesn't like you. Maybe one of the Weasley twins," she mused. "They're the only other people in Hogwarts that share your love of mischief."

"Well, yeah, but we don't really talk. Besides, they rarely pull pranks when they're not going to be around to see the payoff." She looked back down at the box. "I wonder if they all do that."

The two girls spent a half-hour trying on different ribbons, reading each phrase as it appeared. Most of them were complicated, ill-worded insults like _Clay-Brained Moldwarp _and _Churlish Slag. _As they reached the bottom of the box, the words became more playful. One read _Heavy Drinker _in yellow. Another simply said _Trouble. _They were both a little disappointed as they came to the last ribbon in the box. It was green, and when Andy tied it into her hair, the words _Serpent Slayer _appeared in emerald lettering above her head.

Suddenly, it all made sense. "The Ferret!" Andy exclaimed, almost jumping for joy. "It _had_ to be him!" She put the rest of the ribbons back into the box, deciding to leave the green one in her hair.

"Why are you so happy about this? Half those ribbons were horribly offensive, and as far as I'm concerned it's _not _a good thing that he's suddenly decided to fire back just when we thought this whole rivalry had blown over."

Andy waved away her words as if this were something she just wouldn't be able to understand. "Do you _know _how much time he must have spent on this? Not to mention how he managed to get it into our dorm. I thought he'd forgotten about me, when all this time he was cooking up something spectacular!"

"Spectacular, indeed," Cho sniffed. "By the way, we've missed breakfast. We'd better get going."

Andy mumbled in agreement and they made their way to the potions classroom. As she sat down, she noticed that everyone was whispering about her new accessory. A few of her fellow Ravenclaws that had witnessed the few exchanges she'd had with Malfoy chuckled and gave her the thumbs-up; the Slytherins were obviously not amused, wrinkling up their noses as though they'd smelled some botched potion. Captain Ferret himself sat in the corner hiding a smirk behind his hand.

"_Miss _Dennington, is there a reason you've decided to call attention to yourself with such bold attire?" Professor Snape sneered at her, his eyes like coals.

"Are you talking about my hair ribbon?" she said innocently. "It was a gift; I found a whole box of them on my bedside table this morning."

"And who, pray tell, would have sent you such a gift?" His voice was cold and hard.

She shot a quick glance at Malfoy, who was seriously struggling to keep it together, before she continued playing dumb. "I don't know who sent them, Professor. The package wasn't labeled, you see."

"Ah. Well, I strongly advise you to remove it. Now." Snape towered over her desk like some monster in a fairy-tale. She slowly and elaborately untied the ribbon, folded it neatly, and placed it in her pocket. "Ten points from Ravenclaw," he drawled, "For your obvious attempt to distract my class."

Andy bowed her head and made an honest effort to look sorry. Malfoy, however, was not as good of an actor. Unable to hold back any longer, he finally burst into a laughing fit, for which ten points were deducted from Slytherin as well. _At least we're even, _she thought. They kept glancing over at each other throughout the class, both waiting impatiently for it to end.

At long last, they were released from Snape's clutches. A piece of parchment bounced off Andy's desk as a blur of black, white, and green shuffled by in her peripheral vision.

_Troll-Face,_

_ I trust you found that my new insults met your expectations. For your information, you will be meeting me in my own common room after dinner because I have something I want to show you and hopefully your presence will upset Pansy enough to drive her away. You owe me that much, you know. The password is __Lion's Bane_. _I would try to feed you some rubbish about burning this letter and only using the password this once, but we both know you're going to remember it so you can come barging in on me whenever you like. All I ask of you is that no matter what story you come up with about how the password fell into your hands, you definitely __did not__ get it from me. _

_ Regards,_

_ Captain Ferret_


	7. A Joint Lie

"_Lion's Bane," _Andy said. The stone wall in front of her swung inward to reveal the huge Slytherin common room. Stepping inside, she noted the fact that it wasn't nearly as welcoming as her own room upstairs; it was dark and foreboding, all the decorations and the general shape of the room creating an atmosphere of dread despite all the fine furniture. It was clear that nobody had made any effort to disguise the fact that it was a dungeon. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace, but it did little to mask the cold, damp air that surrounded her as she made her way to the claw-footed loveseat in the middle of the room. There were no vipers present, for now. She breathed a sigh of relief. _I'm not too interested in meeting the whole crew today. Let's just get this whole meeting over with. _She struggled with herself about whether or not to actually sit down because she had the notion that everything in this oversized prison cell was dirty. After visualizing Pansy Parkinson and Malfoy's two fat cronies Crabbe and Goyle plopping down on the couch, she opted to remain standing.

"Impressed? I wouldn't imagine the accommodations are nearly this nice in your piddly little raven's nest upstairs." Malfoy had somehow managed to creep out of the boy's dorm and turn up right behind her, causing her to jump. He snickered. "Scared you, didn't I?"

"You are a very experienced creeper," she admitted. "As far as this place is concerned, I'm more disturbed than anything. I don't know how you stand it down here. I personally would much rather be upstairs with my window seat, the little bowl of candies on the coffee table, and the fact that I _don't _have to worry about monsters murdering me in my sleep." As she mentioned that last part, she realized she was only half-joking. "Anyways, where is everybody?"

"I told them I had something planned and that they were all to stay out of the common room until further notice. Didn't want you to feel like we were ganging up on you." He flopped carelessly onto the loveseat and patted the spot beside him. "Why don't you sit down, Dennington?"

"No, thank you. I'll be fine standing right here."

His features hardened. "It wasn't a suggestion. _Sit."_

Andy wordlessly settled onto the couch and folded her hands in her lap. Any other time, she would have been too proud to comply with such a blunt command, but something in his eyes told her it was best not to argue. The small gesture of submission seemed to satisfy him; he smirked slightly. _He's probably just overjoyed with himself, _she thought with a spark of annoyance.

She was absolutely right. Draco felt as though he'd won a huge victory in getting her to follow his order. It was the first time since they'd met that he had been able to intimidate her, and it made him feel better knowing that he had at least a little power over her. He looked over at her: the strong lines of her cheekbones, her straight nose, and her amber eyes set straight forward, not looking at him. She was sitting rather stiffly with her hands clasped together in her lap, her back stick-straight as though someone had run an iron rod through it. He cleared his throat. "You liked the ribbons?"

When she looked at him, her head was the only part of her that moved. "Yes."

"Good. You don't know how much time I spent on that little endeavor." He studied her, trying to deduce why she was behaving so strangely. It wasn't like her to be so rigid, so _mechanical. _"Are you uncomfortable?" he questioned.

"I'm just cold," she replied, not mentioning the nervous feeling that enveloped her. The reality of the situation was starting to set in. _I just walked into the Slytherin common room, and there won't be anyone else here per Malfoy's orders. What if he tortures me to death and makes it look like an accident? _She silently chided herself for being so ridiculous.

"Ah, I see. Wait here," he said, holding his hands toward her as if to hold her in place as he rose from his seat and wandered through a doorway on the far end of the room. He returned a few moments later with a black throw blanket, which he tossed into her lap before settling back into the loveseat. She simply stared at the blanket in silence for a few moments. "You know, it would be more effective if you unfolded it," he muttered.

"Are you sure you want my germs on it?" Her voice wasn't playful; it was flat and disgusted. Malfoy realized this bothered him, though he wasn't entirely certain as to why.

"I'll worry about that later. I can't have you freezing to death because I brought you into my dark, musty dungeon." He reached over and unfolded the blanket, draping it over her in a gesture of goodwill.

She relaxed a bit, acknowledging the truce he had just made with her. "Thank you. Anyways, you said you had something to show me?"

He nodded, pulling a small box from his pocket. As he opened it, Andy could see something sparkling inside. "This is a necklace I bought for Pansy."

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm not following. Isn't that a little counterproductive, since people usually buy gifts for people they _like?"_

"Yes, but it's cursed," he explained. "Whenever she wears it, she will see all my flaws."

"I'm surprised you were even able to admit to _having _flaws, O Prince of Slytherin," Andy said with a chuckle.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "If I'm lucky, she'll get bored with me and run off to bother some other rich, handsome man."

Just as he finished his sentence, Pansy came clomping out of the girls' dorm and gasped at the sight in front of her. She glared at the blonde as if to ask for some sort of explanation. When he didn't give her one, she turned to Andy. "What are you doing in here, mudblood?"

_I'm going to have fun with this, _she thought. "Draco invited me," she said calmly. "I thought he would have told you."

Pansy's eyes shot back over to Malfoy. She was growing angrier by the second. Catching onto Andy's plan, he cleared his throat and tried to look as guilty as possible. "I'm sorry, Pansy, it must have slipped my mind. You know Andrea, of course." It was all he could do to keep a straight face.

"Andrea the mudblood that makes your life hell and ruins your reputation?! Andrea that made a fool of you in front of half the school? YES, DRACO. I KNOW ANDREA. AND IF YOU DO NOT EXPLAIN TO ME WHY SHE'S SITTING HERE ON OUR COUCH, I AM GOING TO…" She continued carrying on like that for a good five minutes. The bomb had finally gone off, and there was no stopping her now.

Meanwhile, Malfoy made a big show of apologizing profusely to Andy about all the yelling. "I'm so sorry, dear. I don't know why she's like this. I've never even dated her."

"Please get her to leave, Draco! I don't think my fragile heart can handle much more of her yelling at me!" Andy's eyes watered from all the laughter she was suppressing.

This was his big opportunity to drive the point home. "_This _is my big secret, Pansy. I've told you. Are you happy now?" Her eyes bulged at his words. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to spend some time with Miss Andrea." He waved her away dismissively.

Pansy let out a strangled sob as she turned around and bolted back into her dorm. As soon as she was out of earshot, the two fell over and started laughing hysterically. "Did you see her face?" Andy giggled. Malfoy just nodded; he was laughing too hard to speak. His pale face was turning bright red, which only made her laugh that much harder. After a few moments, they both collected themselves. "I should probably go," she said. "It's getting late." She threw the blanket off her and stood up.

"There's another party in the Room of Requirement tomorrow night. I'm sure I'll see you there." He looked almost sorry to see her go.

"Of course. Where the booze goes, I go." She grinned and slipped out of the stone door, leaving Malfoy sitting on the couch.


	8. Lack of Self-Control

Draco walked past more than a dozen drunken faces before he found Andy in the crowd. She was sitting alone at a table in the corner in a blue turtleneck, staring into an empty glass. She looked quite bored. "We need to talk," he said in a hushed voice. "Pansy's been telling everybody I cheated on her with a mu- with you."

Her head snapped up to look at him, and she laughed. "I know. That's the price of playing a joke, I guess; I've been hearing things too. Apparently everyone thinks I'm a skank with a thing for total asshats." She looked around to make sure there was nobody listening and leaned in close to him, close enough that he could smell the alcohol on her breath. "Listen. What we need to do is have some kind of blow up here tonight to make it clear we still hate each other. I'm going to need you to slap me."

Malfoy recoiled in disgust. "What? No! I'm not going to slap you; you're a _girl!"_

"I'm serious. Just slap me and call me a bitch or something. Then we'll have it out in front of everyone and things will go back to normal."

"You're mad, woman."

"Draco Malfoy."

"No, I'm not going to. I refuse to-"

_WHAP!_ The back of Andy's hand connected hard with the side of his face. He felt shock and anger rising up along with the sting in his left cheek. He stared at her for a moment, his grey eyes dark and cloudy like two smoking guns. _She is going to die. I am going to kill her._

A low murmur rippled through the crowd as people turned to see the ordeal in the corner of the room. A dark-haired girl who was about a foot shorter than Draco Malfoy had just backhanded him hard enough to turn his head, and he looked absolutely livid about it. After a few seconds, the girl bolted from the table and Malfoy chased after her, knocking over everything standing in his way like a bull in a china shop. When he finally cornered her, he clamped a hand around her throat and slammed her hard against the wall, her feet dangling from the ground. "You will _not _disrespect me again," he growled, staring into her eyes as she choked and sputtered, only inches away from his face.

He turned his head, only to see fifteen wands pointed at him. While Andy may not have been well-liked among her classmates, nobody would just stand by while Malfoy strangled her to death. As he'd said before, she was a _girl. _He released his grip on her neck and let her fall into a crumpled heap on the floor. None of the wands lowered until Fred Weasley had helped her stand up and dust herself off.

"I'm fine," she said with a cough. "No permanent damage."

Malfoy was still staring at her, but no longer in anger. _What did I just do? _He asked himself, shocked and frightened by his own temper. _I could have killed her... _The regret started to sink in and was drilled deeper by another, more sickening thought: _This is what I've been raised to do... Father would have been proud if I had killed her. _He backed a few steps away and tried to force down the bile that threatened to rise out of his stomach. His mind veered off on a familiar train of thought that always begot more questions than answers.

His crisis was interrupted by Andy's voice. "Alright, then, you've made your point. Seems you're a dangerous man." She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. If he had frightened her, she didn't let on.

"What do I have to do, t-to get you to just g-go away?" He stumbled over his words, mind racing with all the horrible things he might do to her if she stayed in his life. "I want you gone." He clenched his teeth and made every effort to appear cold and indifferent, but he could tell she saw the uncertainty in his eyes.

She smirked. "What we're going to do, Mr. Malfoy, is we're going to have a drinking contest. If you win, you'll never have to look at me again. But if I win," she paused for dramatic effect, "then you have to spend the entire summer with me, in my home in Alabama."

"Are you crazy? He'll murder you in your sleep!" Seamus Finnigan snapped.

Draco flinched visibly at the truth in his words. "Seriously, Dennington, this is a ridiculous idea. We should just go our separate ways, and-"

She cut him off. "I'm not backing down, Malfoy. You've already pissed me off tonight." She grabbed two bottles of firewhiskey and two clean glasses, setting them down on a table in the middle of the room. "Are you going to do this or not?"

He sighed and sat down at the table. There was no point in trying to reason with her; he was going to have to beat her at her own game. _This shouldn't be so hard. I'll just outdrink her and she'll have to go away. She's only 45 kilos; how much can she really drink, anyway? _"Alright, woman. You've got yourself a bet. What are the rules?"

"Drink as much as you can. One glass at a time. First one to throw up or pass out loses. It's pretty simple."

"_Too _simple," he retorted. "I think there should also be a stipulation on the participant's ability to hold a proper conversation."

"Fine. Mild slurring is okay, as long as we're still able to make comments relevant to the conversation. Let's do this." She filled her glass and cracked her knuckles, as if preparing for a big fight.

Students were gathering around the table for this, the final showdown in their battle of will. A Gryffindor Andy didn't recognize volunteered to be referee, and after a few moments of staring each other down, the two of them were drinking. The first few minutes were spent in silence as the two of them focused solely on the task at hand. When they'd downed about half a bottle each, that's when the insults started flying.

"You know, you're a real piece of shit. And for the record, if I hadn't been wearing this turtleneck, I would've torched you the second you put your grimy little hands on me."

"Well, that's what you get for being such a bloody prude! Not that I don't understand your plight; even if you ran around naked, I doubt anyone would sleep with you."

"What, you're saying people would be more likely to sleep with _you? _Ha! Let me know when you find a nice girl who can get past the fact that you're a total douche who looks like a naked mole-rat."

"I am a _pureblood, _Dennington. I suggest you have some respect."

"You're fucking inbred." Andy waved her empty bottle around in front of her. "Get me another one." The Gryffindor passed her a new bottle, and the crowd rumbled in astonishment.

The drunker they got, the less rational the argument became.

"Your eyes are brown, just like the mud that courses through your veins!" Malfoy spat. His speech was becoming noticeably slurred and he was leaning heavily against the table for support.

"And your eyes are grey, like a giant storm cloud just waiting to ruin everybody's day!" Andrea was still speaking clearly, but her volume had increased with every glass and now she was shouting at the top of her lungs.

"I hate you!" He roared, slamming his fist down on the table and almost knocking over his bottle of whiskey. He all but crawled across the table until his head was almost in her lap, his voice suddenly growing quiet and sinister. "You know… I'm not… I'm not afraid to kill you, Dennington. I could. Quick as a blink… I'd just point my wand at you and… _Bam… _You'd be dead." His shoulders started to shake and a low gurgling sound came from his throat. She couldn't tell if he was laughing or sobbing; either way, it was a disturbing sight. "You shouldn't… Shouldn't come near me. I hate your kind. This is what I am…" He looked up at her pitifully before being sick all over the table and falling silent, his head resting in a pool of his own vomit.


	9. Mothering a Drunk

A stunned silence filled the room for a few moments. There were no words to describe the chilling scene that had just unfolded in the middle of the room; there were only nervous glances, shudders, and the collective fear that blanketed all of them like a thick fog. The only thing breaking the stillness was the sound of feet shuffling towards the door. Slowly, the crowd dispersed until there was nobody left except Andrea and the miserable creature that lay passed out in front of her.

"_Scourgify,"_ she muttered, cleaning the sick off the table, off his shirt, out of his hair. "You're just a terrible mess, aren't you?" He seemed so small. Frail, even. Lying there halfway across the table with his legs dangling off the edge, he resembled a child, and a very sickly one at that. _I guess we're going to have to stay here tonight, _she thought. _I don't see myself dragging him back downstairs without getting us both in major trouble. _She made a mental checklist of the things they would need: a bed, a bucket, a washcloth, and a sink. One by one they appeared in the room.

_Okay. Game plan. I guess I could start with getting him into bed… _She reached around and grabbed him underneath the arms, trying to lift him. There was no way that was going to work; he was twice her size. She pulled her wand back out and threw the covers back before levitating him into the bed. She then pulled the bucket over next to the bed and wet the washcloth, wringing it out and wiping his face with it. He groaned softly, his face wrinkling up in discomfort. "Draco? Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

After a moment, he stirred. The voice in his ears was soft and warm. "Mum?"

"I'm afraid not, sunshine. You are very drunk." She chuckled dryly. "Now answer me: are you hurt?"

"Everything hurts, Mum. I'm so tired…" He nestled himself further into the covers.

"I told you, sweetie, I'm not your mom. But I'll take care of you, don't worry. You just need to rest now, okay?" Andy ran her fingers through his hair reassuringly. She knew that taking care of a drunk was a lot like watching a child: all she really needed to do was make sure she used small words and kept her voice as soothing as possible.

"You're not mum?" Draco's head was swimming. He slowly pieced the puzzle together: this voice was too slow to be his mother's, and it had a strange lilt to it… _Dennington's voice, _he realized. His eyes snapped open. The memories of the night's events suddenly flooded back to him. He swallowed repeatedly and struggled to sit up. "I'm going to be sick…" She handed him the bucket just in time. Wave after wave of sour alcohol came up, and he felt her hand rubbing slow circles on his back until he had finished retching.

"Better?" she asked.

He nodded slowly and she tugged the bucket out of his hands. He didn't see where she put it. _Hopefully somewhere close. _He raised his head back up and tried his best to get his vision to focus.

"Gaah, Malfoy. You look like shit." She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him as he almost wobbled off the bed. "By the way, you are an incredibly hateful drunk."

He shifted around nervously, trying to come up with a response. When one didn't come, he finally ended up just blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Why do you keep touching me?"

"I'm only trying to help, you whiny bitch!" she snapped.

"That's not what I meant! I don't mind, I just… I don't understand how you can be in the same room with me right now."

"Why would that be a problem?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

_Maybe because I tried to strangle you last night? Maybe because by this time next year, I will be torturing and killing little mudblood girls like you? _He shuddered at the thought before pushing it out of his mind. "Like you said, I'm a hateful drunk," he muttered.

"Yeah, well you're a hateful sober too, but that never stopped me from bothering you," she stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, you're going to have all summer to make it up to me."

_Shit. _"I was hoping you had forgotten about that," he admitted. "There's no way you can actually expect me to stay at your house for three months."

"I won, Malfoy. That means you're coming with me."

"You can't be seriou-"

"Shhhhh. Hush. We'll argue about it in the morning; I want to get some sleep." She climbed under the covers on the other side of the bed. "Goodnight, Ferret," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

"You are either the bravest woman I've ever met, or you've absolutely lost it. I mean, seriously? You're just going to crawl into a bed with the man who choked you out earlier?" He stared at her incredulously.

She rolled to face him and narrowed her eyes. "Do you plan on trying something?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then _goodnight, _Ferret." She closed her eyes again, sighing softly as she nuzzled the pillow with her cheek.

"I'm too drunk to argue with you, but you ought to consider your own safety more often." With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	10. The Nightmare

_Draco stormed down a darkened hallway, passing several dingy prison cells. Their occupants appeared malnourished and had obviously been mistreated, shrinking away from the bars as they saw him coming. He rounded a corner and stepped into the first cell on his right. There was Andy, sitting on a cot in the far corner of the room. She was painfully thin and smudged all over with dirt, but somehow there was still a certain dignity in her posture. She had her shoulders back, sitting up tall on the edge of the cot, and she smiled at him as if he were an old friend._

_ He raised his wand. _"Crucio."_ She fell, writhing about on the floor and shrieking, tears streaming down her cheeks. He spent the next few moments watching her cry out in pain before finally ending the curse._

_ She looked up at him, her tiny body trembling from the torture she'd just endured. The emotion on her face wasn't anger, spite, or hatred. Her eyebrows furrowed and she seemed to be reading his face, searching for something inside him that she wasn't able to find. _She pitied him. _"I'm so disappointed," she murmured. "You could have been so much better than this." Her face contorted as he caused another wave of searing pain to tear through her body._

_ "I have spent my entire life building up to this point. It's my duty to bring honor to my family in the eyes of the Dark Lord." He said bitterly. "This is what I am."_

_ She shook her head. "Not true. You can still fix it, you know." Bringing her eyes up to meet his, she focused all her strength on pulling in her next breath. "You can make it right." Her head dropped back onto the stone floor._

_ Her words were like needles pressing into his conscience. Draco dropped his wand, the sound it made upon hitting the ground echoing around the room. _She's right. I don't want this. I never wanted this. _Mind racing, he knelt down and pulled Andy into his arms, hoping he could get her some help in time. He turned to leave only to see his father standing in the doorway._

_ "_Avada kedavra!"

_ "Father, no!" he gasped as the body in his arms went limp._

_ Lucius sneered at him, his eyes cold and unfeeling. _"Crucio." _He watched as his son crumpled into a heap, begging him to put out the fire that was emanating from his bones. He frowned slightly. "Draco, I'm so disappointed…"_

Malfoy woke with a start, relieved to find himself still in the Room of Requirement. _Just a dream. _He comforted himself with the thought. On the bed beside him, drooling into her pillow, was Andy. She was sprawled out on her stomach with her right half hanging over the edge of the bed, perfectly healthy and content. It struck him as silly that someone so small could take up that much space; he smiled slightly. The pressure in his chest eased slowly as he watched her breathe, reminding himself that she was still alive, that it was just a dream.

Once the shock of the nightmare had worn off, he turned his attention to his pounding head. He'd never been a heavy drinker, so the events of last night's competition had left him with a terrible hangover. Dragging himself out of bed, he walked over to the sink and splashed his face with water in the hopes that it would help. It didn't. _Today is going to be awful_, he thought, _but I might as well get dressed. _He told the room that he needed two sets of school clothes, one for himself and the other for Dennington. They appeared neatly folded on the edge of the bed, and Draco picked up his own set and carried it into the bathroom to change.

Just as he was about to tie his tie, he heard a loud _thunk _from the bedroom, followed by a startled cry. He rushed to see what the commotion was about, only to find Andy wriggling around in the floor, tangled up in bedclothes. After struggling for a few moments, she finally managed to free herself from the blankets, before tripping over them and landing in the floor again. He attempted to stifle his laughter as he watched her grab onto the side of the bed and pull herself back to her feet.

"Well, that was about the worst way to wake up that I've ever experienced," she said with a chuckle.

"You might do better if you stop dangling yourself halfway off the bed when you sleep," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Not my fault. The other half of the bed was occupied by a self-proclaimed drunken murderer. Not that your life choices are any of my business," she added, "but I wasn't about to go wallering all over you."

"…Wallering? What does that mean?"

She met his puzzled expression with one of her own. "You know what? I'm actually not sure. I've never had to _explain _it to anybody before; everybody back home just knows." She paused for a moment and frowned, deep in thought. "I guess you could compare it to pawing somebody," she said finally.

He nodded. "Right. Well, if you want breakfast, you need to get dressed." He gestured to the pile of clothes, which she scooped into her arms before disappearing into the bathroom.

When she had finished dressing, Malfoy was nowhere to be found. She assumed he'd decided to go ahead and make his way to the Great Hall, so she grabbed her wand from the counter and decided to do the same.

"_Andrea Dawn Dennington." _Andy could tell she was in for a tongue-lashing by the way Cho enunciated her full name. "Where in Godric's name _were_ you last night? Penny told me that you and Malfoy had some kind of row, and when you didn't come back I didn't know _what _might have happened to you! I stayed up all night worrying that he'd killed you and stashed your body in a broom closet or something!" The small girl was shaking with anger. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Malfoy tried to strangle me last night, threatened to kill me, and then passed out drunk in a puddle of his own puke. I didn't think it was right to just leave him there."

"So you just decided to let your best friend spend eight hours thinking you were dead, opting instead to spend the night babysitting a perfectly horrid person that wants to off you?

"No, I just…" Andy reached up and squeezed her bun in one hand, something she often did when she was upset. "Cho, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just knew I couldn't make it all the way to the dungeons and back without getting caught."

This seemed to be the correct answer, as Cho let out one final huff before finally letting the subject go. "Alright, then. I'm still very angry, but I suppose you're off the hook until the next time you do something dreadful."

Andy grinned. "Well, we'd better enjoy the next five minutes then." The comment earned her a playful swat on the arm. Relieved by her friend's forgiveness, she munched on a piece of toast and read a few pages of her Herbology textbook until it was time to go to class.


	11. Pride vs Prejudice

Draco burst into the Slytherin common room like a man possessed; after spending the entire day trying to come up with ways to evade Andy, he was at the end of his rope. "Blaise, I have a problem." He peered around to make sure there was no one looking before he continued. "I lost a bet with Dennington, and I'm worried she'll actually try to collect on it."

Blaise Zabini was sprawled out on one of the green armchairs. "The mudblood Ravenclaw that's been terrorizing you for the past week? Bloody hell, there's no telling what she's conned you into. Do I want to know?"

"It's not _particularly _terrible, considering all the awful things I'm sure she's capable of, but it's… inconvenient, at best. She wants me to spend the entire summer with her, in some kind of muggle town. I think she called it Allahbayma or something." He sighed and ran his fingers through his white-blonde hair.

"Ugh, you might as well spend the summer with Peeves."

"Exactly! I find the woman insufferable _now, _and I've never spent more than a few hours with her at a time!"

"Not to mention all the time you'd have to spend doing everyday chores without magic like a Neanderthal." Blaise rubbed his chin and considered the situation for a moment. "The only bright side I can see in this is that you'll be able to completely avoid your father for three months."

"Believe me, I would _love _to get away from my father for the summer, but not if the only other option is some filthy muggle shack that has Dennington in it!" Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose, weighing the options in his mind. _There's no way I can avoid her forever, but…_ "Wait a second! My father would never permit me to waste three months of my life being contaminated with the muggle world. When she comes to take me away, he'll just tell her no. It's not like she can kidnap me, right?" He reveled in his newfound immunity.

"Honestly, I wouldn't put it past her." Blaise pulled himself into a more proper sitting position. "I probably wouldn't go anywhere alone if I were you."

"You're not helping."

"He's got a point. I wouldn't put it past me, either." The two boys turned their heads apprehensively toward the room's entrance and found none other than Andrea Dennington herself, leaning casually against the stone wall. Draco's heart sank when he realized she must have heard at least a small part of their discussion, knowing that she wouldn't be happy about him trying to weasel out of their deal.

Blaise spoke up. "You're not supposed to be here, mudblood. How did you get our password?" His slanting eyes were piercing and his tone was dripping with malice.

Andy stared back at him in silence for a few seconds, noting that he was probably the only person in Hogwarts that was more insufferable than Malfoy. Whereas the Ferret would throw around a few half-hearted insults here and there, Blaise's words were laced with pure hatred. _Malfoy may be a conceited brat, but most of his outbursts are just a matter of pride. _This _guy, on the other hand, is just sinister._

"Answer me, filth! Where did you get the password?" His voice jarred her from her thoughts. He was standing now, his wand raised. There was no doubt that he would use it if she didn't start talking.

"I roughed up a first-year," she lied. "Not that it's any of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to discuss with your ferret-like friend." She could feel her hands trembling so she shoved them into the pockets of her robe, remembering an old adage her father constantly assaulted her with: _To feel afraid is natural. To show it is a weakness_. She'd be damned if this lug in front of her was going to get any satisfaction.

Blaise opened his mouth to curse her, but Draco glanced over at him pointedly, a silent command for him to back down. He lowered his wand with a scowl and stormed towards the dormitory.

"Oh, and Zabini? Keep this to yourself, if you don't mind," Malfoy called after him. The treacherous lump let out a grunt of begrudging agreement before disappearing into the dorm.

Andy offered him an awkward nod of gratitude. "So… How are things?" she said lamely. "Any other mudbloods try to have a go at you lately?"

"No. Just you, actually." He allowed himself to smile, his grey eyes flickering playfully. She responded with a nervous laugh.

He noticed that the unwavering confidence that was so characteristic of her was completely absent now. Her eyes meandered around the room and seemingly refused to settle on him, and she fiddled with the bun on the back of her head. It occurred to him that Blaise's outburst may have frightened her, which was a strange thought. Up until now, she had stood immovable against every insult or threat she'd had to face; why would this particular instance be any different? He mulled the question over for a moment before deciding it wasn't important.

She cleared her throat. "Malfoy, I understand that you don't want to come with me this summer because you think it will do some kind of irreparable damage to your pureblood psyche. I want you to know that even though I think you're being completely ridiculous, I respect your wishes." She laced her fingers together and pursed her lips, finally looking at him directly.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm giving you an opportunity to puss out." It was impossible to miss the spark in her eyes. This wasn't an offer; it was a challenge. She was daring him to go through with it at the risk of being labeled a coward for life, something his pride would not allow.

"No, Dennington. We made an agreement. It would be outright gutlessness if I were to renege on it. This may not be a pleasant experience, but I'll just have to suffer through. A Malfoy never disregards an obligation." He squared his jaw in an effort to look more self-assured than he actually felt.

His words caused the petite girl to beam at him, lighting up in a way he'd never seen. "Excellent. In that case, I'll start working out the details. Everything should be set in order by April, which will give you a month to get your parents on board."

_His parents. _ Getting them to agree to this would be no small feat. "About that… I can only think to tell them you're pureblooded. You're from out of the country, so they won't know the difference as long as you play it off well enough. Start thinking of some believable lies."

"I'll get right on that, sir." She flashed that bright, genuine grin at him again before turning to leave.

"Wait." He watched her as she spun to face him. "Thank you," he said softly, "for taking care of me last night. Merlin knows I wouldn't have if I'd been in your place."

Andy waved her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it. You should never have to thank somebody for doing what's right." With that, she stepped out of the room, leaving him with nothing but his confused thoughts for company.


	12. Umbridge's Reign and Malfoy's Mother

The months crawled by slowly, offering none of the usual comforts. Harry Potter and several other students were holding some sort of secret classes in the Room of Requirement, and since it wouldn't be prudent to call any extra attention to the Room, there were no more parties. Not that anyone would have been able to manage them anyway; Professor Umbridge had been bumped up from Shitty Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to Shitty High Inquisitor of the school –a position that most considered a load of bull- and had commenced passing entire hallways' worth of ridiculous regulations. One of them disbanded all student organizations. Another threatened to expel students for reading _The Quibbler_,which would have broken Luna Lovegood's heart had she not learned to simply jinx the magazine to look like a regular textbook. There were rules against everything from participating in extracurricular activities to playing music during study hours, and everyone awaited the inevitable day that they were prohibited to breathe.

Then the unthinkable happened. Harry's secret meetings were discovered, and somehow that had ended up with Dumbledore being sent away. Thus Umbridge was promoted to Shitty Headmistress, and with the _ever-important _High Inquisitor position now empty, she collaborated an Inquisitorial Squad. This group was comprised entirely of Slytherins, since they were the only wretches in the school that would accept an offer from Umbridge rather than telling her to get back to whatever communist country she had previously dictated. They were granted the ability to dock house points, read everyone's mail, and basically make life unbearable for anyone who crossed their path. It was a nightmare.

Obviously, Malfoy was the Inquisitorial Terrorist. He stalked the halls, ensuring that there was never any laughter or merrymaking on his watch. Andy was disgusted by this but, strangely enough, he never seemed to give her any trouble, always looking the other way when he accidentally caught her in the hall after hours or leaving boxes of Puking Pastilles on Umbridge's desk. She assumed that this was due to their arrangement; he was probably afraid she would retaliate for any hostile behavior once she had gotten him under her own roof, and he would have been absolutely right to assume so. Andy barely tolerated _honest_ authority, and the tyrannical reign of terror that Hogwarts was currently under was enough to turn her stomach. She made up her mind that if Malfoy abused his newfound power against her _even once,_ he would pay dearly for it later. Luckily for him, he seemed to have enough sense to refrain.

Time crawled. Andy spent her free time in the common room listening to Cho complain about her "so-called friend Marietta" and dreaming of the day Shitty Headmistress Umbridge would be carried off by a pack of centaurs. Classes were dry and devoid of any real information, mealtimes were supervised by the Inquisitorial Cronies. There was no denying the wretchedness of the situation. There were times when she could swear the clock was ticking backwards, staring at her indignantly and taunting her. _I will not move, _it said. _You will never be free. Heil Umbridge! _She had never been so tempted to punch a clock in the face.

After another three months of this miserable existence, Dumbledore finally returned to his position as Headmaster with the news that Umbridge had, in a satisfying coincidence, been carried off by a pack of centaurs. He went on to say that the centaurs hadn't killed her, which was disappointing, but Andy couldn't complain. The latest update to the story was that she had been fired, and it was enough to bask in the knowledge that the Commie hoptoad would no longer be a part of life at Hogwarts.

With Umbridge out of the picture, the clocks sped back up. She barely had time to blink before May arrived with the promise of fulfilling her plan. Her half of the arrangements was finished: she had already spoken with her brother and informed him that he would, as she put it, "have to stop throwing his dirty laundry on the couch for three months." She had triple-checked her cover story for inconsistencies and was as ready as she would ever be when Professor Flitwick and her soon-to-be roommate stopped her at breakfast one morning.

Flitwick cleared his throat. "Good morning, Miss Dennington. It seems that Mrs. Malfoy has come to see you. Would you have been _expecting _such a visit?" The small man looked puzzled and slightly unnerved, but did his best to preserve his usual friendly demeanor.

Andrea smiled down at her Head-of-House. "Yes, Professor. We have a few things to sort out regarding Mr. Malfoy and myself."

He nodded slightly, struggling with the fear that threatened to escape from his mind and seep into his face. "Of course. Well… Follow me." With that, he shuffled through the corridors, pausing every minute or so to be sure the two students were still following behind.

Malfoy looked over at her, his entire body visibly stiff with anxiety. "This is it, Dennington. I trust you have everything _in order._" He furrowed his brow, terrified that she wouldn't be able to lie.

She rolled her eyes and pretended to be insulted. "I'm _wounded, _Ferret. You have such little faith in me."

The rest of the long walk was spent in silence until they finally reached the gargoyle that concealed Dumbledore's staircase. Flitwick mumbled a password that Andy couldn't quite make out, and the gargoyle spun aside. He then politely excused himself, rushing back down the hallway twice as quickly as he had come in.

Draco hesitated to climb the newly revealed staircase, opting instead to stand and fidget. "Well… Mother's up there… Are you sure we can do this?"

"Awww, what's the matter? Is poor little Draco afraid of his mommy?" she taunted.

"No… Of course not…" A tinge of color touched his pale face for a moment. "I just don't particularly enjoy _lying _to her, is all."

Though it sounded strange coming from the mouth of the most manipulative person in the school, Andy understood the sentiment. "Don't worry; I'll do all the lying. You just sit there and look like you know what I'm talking about." He acknowledged her comment with a slight nod, and the two of them climbed the staircase with steady, measured steps.

Dumbledore was seated at his desk as always, his eyes twinkling as Andy walked into his office. Narcissa was his polar opposite, eyeing her suspiciously and chewing on her bottom lip. She brightened at the sight of her son, though, and even managed a smile.

"Draco, dear, I came as soon as I got your owl. Your father is… _away, _of course…" something resembling sadness flickered across her face for a moment. "I'm sure he's quite disappointed that he can't meet this young lady you seem so taken with. You must be Andrea," she said, turning her gaze to her with an artificial smile.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Draco has told me so much about you. He says you're quite clever." The woman patted Andy's hand, a gesture that she assumed was the Malfoy matriarch's best attempt at fondness towards anyone outside of her own family. "So, would you like to tell me about your family?"

Andy translated the question in her mind: _Tell me they're purebloods._ She smiled warmly and stood up a little taller so as to seem proud of the answer she was about to give. "I am Andrea Dennington, daughter of Coral and Stanley Dennington. My mother owns a nice wand shop in America, where we're from, and my father is a healer. I have an older brother, too, Stanley Jr., but we call him Stan. He's just loafing around at the moment, trying to fulfill his dream of joining the Sweetwater All-Stars." She chuckled good-naturedly and shook her head. "What is it with boys and their Quidditch aspirations?"

Draco stared at her in disbelief. She was telling her story so casually and with such ease that if he hadn't known better, he would have believed it himself. He watched her politely answer his mother's questions about the ins and outs of running a wand shop; to his surprise, she really seemed to know what she was talking about.

"Mom made this one special for me," she said, pulling her wand out and handing it to Narcissa, who held it tentatively. "11 ½ inches, Silver Lime with a Veela Hair core."

"Goodness," Mrs. Malfoy said as she scrutinized the elegant wood. "Your parents must be well-off; this is quite possibly one of the rarest wands I've ever handled. Is it difficult to work with? I've heard that Veela hair can be temperamental." There was a look of genuine interest on the woman's face.

"It's a wild one, no doubt about that. But now that I've gotten used to it, it's almost as if it knows what I want before I do." Andy took her wand back as it was offered, returning it to the pocket of her robe. "Kind of scary, actually. Mom described it as 'very nearly sentient.'"

"That's fascinating, Andrea. It's no wonder my son has taken an interest in you." She beamed, obviously buying their story. "I understand that he wishes to join you for the summer holiday. The two of you will be… _Supervised, _I assume?"

"Of course, Mrs. Malfoy. You have nothing to worry about. My parents do work most of the day, but Stan is twenty-three and _very _protective. Your son and I would be hard-pressed to get by with anything, even if we tried." She waited for this to sink in before continuing. "Also, we are connected to the Floo network if you feel like coming for a visit." Malfoy paled a little bit at that part.

Narcissa's face seemed to light up at the thought of visiting, but in the next instant it fell in disappointment. "As much as I would like to, dear, I'm a very busy woman. It's unlikely I'll be able to find the time." She sighed. "I would normally be against the idea of Draco leaving home at all, but with everything that's been going on lately… I think it might be good for him to get away for awhile."

Andy grinned triumphantly and Malfoy found himself infected with her enthusiasm. He couldn't remember the last time he'd stayed over anywhere other than his godfather Severus's house. Muggle-world or not, this was an _adventure, _where he would be far-removed from the demands of upholding his reputation. He threw his arms around his mother. "Thank you, mum! You won't regret it; we're going to have so much fun!"

"Draco, how many times do I have to tell you, it's _Mother _when we're in public!" she admonished, only halfheartedly. She squeezed her son's shoulders gently before looking up at Andy. "When will the two of you be leaving, dear?"

"When school ends in two weeks, we'll take the train back to London as usual, and my brother will pick us up. If you'd like, you can see us off there."

Narcissa nodded. "Well, I guess it's settled then. I'll meet you at King's Cross in two weeks."

"Excellent decision, Narcissa. I think Draco will benefit from this trip more than you can imagine," Dumbledore said, causing all three of them to jump because they had forgotten he was in the room. "Now that all the arrangements have been made, I think a certain pair of students may want to get back to potions class, hmm?" He smiled, his eyes twinkling the way they always did.

"Oh, yeah. I guess so." Andy smoothed out her robes. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy." She was met with a reverential nod before starting down the stairs.

After saying goodbye to his mother, Draco caught up with her about halfway down. "That was brilliant, Dennington."

She laughed and gave a small bow. "Thank you very much."

The two teenagers shuffled back through the maze of corridors, itching for the next two weeks to pass.


	13. The Train

_**A/N: I'm so sorry about the delay! The infamous Chapter Thirteen writer's block set in, and it took me an eternity to bridge the gap. Hope you enjoy!**_

The next two weeks passed in a blur of O.W.L. exams and their accompanying nightmarish anxiety. Draco had easily earned an _Outstanding _grade in nearly every class, while Andy's accomplishments were more modest. Most of her exams came back as _Acceptable, _with an _Exceeds Expectations _in Transfiguration. With all that horrible mess out of the way, along with packing and farewells, the two teenagers finally found themselves boarding the train home.

Andy and Cho settled into a compartment and started talking about the typical things: how much they would miss each other, how happy they would be to see their families and hometowns, and what type of scenes would be waiting for them when they arrived. Cho was just explaining the finer points of her mom's homemade dumplings when a certain Albino Demon Hamster slid open the door and dropped unceremoniously into the seat across from them.

Andy nodded at Malfoy, who uncomfortably nodded back. Cho shot her friend a questioning look. _What in Merlin's name is going on? _It seemed to demand.

"Cho, you already know Mr. Malfoy." Andy's comment was met with nothing more than a stare. She cleared her throat. "Well, this _incredibly lucky _young man is going to be spending the summer at my house." She smiled smugly when Draco flinched.

"…Err… What?" It took a few seconds before the words visibly sunk in, replacing her friend's confusion with worry and rage. "This whole time… You have been… _Dating…_ The Ferret King… And you _did not see fit to tell me?!" _Andy opened her mouth to correct her misinterpretation, but she was a second too late: the tirade had already begun. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Andrea? I was scared to death all those times you crept off with him after dinner! I tossed and turned all night, worrying you'd been murdered or _worse, _and all this time you've been..."

Unable to slip a word in edgewise during Cho's misguided rant, Andy resorted to simply shaking her head violently. The other girl didn't even seem to notice and simply continued. Malfoy smirked a bit, thinking how silly it was to see the tomboy who effortlessly matched his insults shrinking back like a scolded child before her friend. He'd unwittingly turned the gun on himself, however, because upon noticing his smug look Cho exploded. "And _YOU_! I don't know what on Earth you think you're playing at by seducing one of your supposed _enemies, _pretending to hate her in public and then sneaking off in the middle of the night to do _Merlin-knows-what _in the shadows…"

Draco sat frozen, too bewildered to be offended. As it turned out, the Chang girl became an unstoppable force when she was angry. It was actually quite scary, and it took several minutes of her wild ranting for him to finally pull out his inner Malfoy. "Will you _shut up?"_ he snarled, pleasantly surprised when her mouth did, in fact, snap shut. "I am disgusted that you would think so low of me. Your mudblood friend is no less repulsive to me than the first time I saw her wretched little face. However, she has trapped me into an agreement, lied to my parents, and thus successfully kidnapped me for the next three months." He settled back into his chair, satisfied with her puzzled expression.

Taking advantage of the momentary silence, Andy piped up. "It was a bet. That night I didn't come back…" She held up a hand to stifle the fresh anger burning in the girl's eyes. "I made a bet with the Ferret that if he couldn't outdrink me, he'd have to do this. Needless to say, he lost."

"He may have lost, but I don't really see how you're winning anything here." Cho cast a glance in Malfoy's direction and wrinkled her nose. "He's intolerable. You've only brought a great lot of misery on yourself." She crossed her arms over her chest; whatever awful things Andy was going to endure, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she deserved them for her recklessness. _At least they still hate each other, _she thought. _At least they're not… At least the world is still upright._

Andy ventured a chuckle upon seeing her companion ease off. "I love you, Cho, but I wish you wouldn't just take the first idea that comes to mind and run with it. I mean, the whole 'Andy's-been-sleeping-with-Ferret-Face-behind-my-back' speech was unnecessary and disturbing. I'm insulted, to be honest. I mean, that's just…" -she too eyed Malfoy with wrinkled nose- "…_utterly disgusting."_

_I was thinking the same, _he thought bitterly as he returned the gesture. "Now that we seem to have gotten our mutual disdain out of the way, why don't we discuss the terms of my time in your… err… _dwelling?"_ He refrained from using the word _hovel _because he didn't deem it prudent to anger the woman that would soon hold his fate in her hands. "I don't know the first thing about spending time with muggles… Perhaps you should educate me."

She smiled slightly. "We'll be stopping off at my mom's house first; she'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Your mum, the wandmaker?" he scoffed. "Honestly, that was the most brilliant lie I'd heard in a long time. You know, if you hadn't been born so _tainted, _you would have made a good Slytherin." He searched her face for a reaction to his offhanded dig, but apart from a slight roll of her eyes, there wasn't one. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and leaned forward. For a few brief seconds he was afraid she would hex him, but she just pressed it into his palm. He stared down at the thing for what felt like an eternity before noticing a tiny inscription carved along the handle.

_**For Andrea Dawn, My Beautiful Daughter**_

__Draco was dumbfounded. _She was telling the truth. _ He barely noticed when Andy slipped the wand back out of his hands and returned it to her pocket, smiling triumphantly at his baffled expression. He sat silently like that for an indefinite period of time, only snapping back to reality when he felt the train come to a stop. He grabbed his things and followed her out onto the platform, his mind so full of questions that he couldn't think straight.


	14. The Big Reveal

Andy smiled as she stepped off the train, a confused and distressed Draco trailing behind her. All the unanswered questions were almost tangible, etched into his pale face. She opted not to answer them. After all, he was _supposed _to feel puzzled and out-of-place; that was the entire point of their excursion. So when she spotted Stan and her mother across the crowded platform, she ran towards them without any warning, challenging him to keep up. When she looked over her shoulder, she was a bit impressed to see him still close behind.

Draco weaved through the crowd, following the black bun that danced around on the back of her head until he heard her cry out, "Mom!" He hung back as she threw her arms around a tall woman in a blue dress. "Oh my gosh, I've missed you! How are things at the shop?"

"Oh, that shop's the same as it's always been: nothing but rushing back and forth. How was school this year? Is your wand holding up?" The woman broke their embrace and beamed down at her daughter.

"Of course. Nobody would doubt your skills, Mom."

A muscular boy who appeared to be in his mid-twenties nudged in. "What about me, Anthill? I've missed you too, you know." He extended his arms for a hug, but was rejected.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Stan. How was your year of sitting on the couch and doing nothing?" She crossed her arms, but her expression was playful.

Stan smirked at her. "It was great, actually. I finally beat Battle Toads." Andy rolled her brown eyes.

Draco watched their banter in silence for a moment, yet again confused. Though their exchanges made it clear they were family, something just wasn't right. These two were tall and blonde, with bright blue eyes and milky-white skin, a glaring contrast to Andrea's dark features. To be honest, they looked more like _his _family than hers. He assumed that she had somehow been adopted. He wondered briefly whether, if such were the case, magic had been _given _to her instead of her having stolen it. He pushed the thought from his mind: it didn't matter. Regardless of how she had acquired it, she was altogether unworthy of her magic.

"_There _you are, my darling boy." He turned to see his own mother, who placed a pale hand on his shoulder. The gesture was reserved but loving, and Draco's stony countenance faded for a moment to allow a slight smile. After a moment, Narcissa pulled away. "Andrea," she called. "How nice to see you again. And you must be her mother. I'm Narcissa Malfoy." She extended the hand she had just removed from her son.

"Coral Dennington." Andy's mother accepted the handshake. "It's nice to meet you. Draco seems like a very nice boy. Reminds me very much of my Stanley when he was younger."

"Please see that you take care of him. I've never left him in the care of anyone other than a family friend…" Mrs. Malfoy's brow furrowed worriedly.

"I understand," Coral said with a knowing smile. "You don't have anything to worry about. Would it settle your nerves a bit to have dinner with us?"

The older woman relaxed slightly. "Yes, I think it would."

"Then we'd be happy to have you over. I'll apparate you and Draco; Andy, you'll be going with your brother."

"Ughhhhhhhhhh…" Andy groaned, slumping her shoulders in displeasure. "I don't _want _to go with Stan. I question his skills. What if I get splinched?"

"Don't argue with me, young lady. You know Stan can't take two people at once, and it's only polite to let our guests go together."

The short brunette sighed. "Whatever. But if I get splinched, I'm blaming _both _of you."

After a few seconds of situating and more than a few protests from Andy, the five of them arrived in a large, brightly-lit living room. Stan immediately bounded onto a blue sofa in the corner.

"What did I tell you about jumping on the furniture?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Mom." He grinned up at her sheepishly.

"Goodness, Stanley. I thought I was almost finished raising you." Coral smiled, shaking her head in mock exasperation. "Andy, get over here so I can take your charm off."

Andy pumped her fist in the air. "Oh, thank God. I was starting to get scared you were gonna leave me like this."

Once again, Draco didn't have the slightest idea what was going on. His mother cast him a quick, almost imperceptible glance signifying that she didn't know, either. He composed himself for a moment so as not to seem too uncomfortable before asking, "What charm? What are you talking about?"

Coral smiled that strange, warm smile again but didn't answer his question. Instead, she waved her wand and muttered a spell that he wasn't familiar with –which was saying something since he was from a very powerful pureblood family and no slouch in his classes besides- and stepped back. He held his breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Andrea underwent several changes before his very eyes, stretching and pulling, some of her features smoothing out and others sinking in, until she had become utterly unrecognizable: tall and slender, with sparkling blue eyes shaded by long yellow lashes and full, dainty pink lips. Her face was no longer angular, but soft and delicate, her milky-white skin and silver-blonde hair resembling that of a porcelain doll. She was beautiful, but unsettlingly so: it was as though with a wave of her wand, Mrs. Dennington had disintegrated her daughter and replaced her with someone else, someone who would fit into her picturesque blonde family. This strange new creature smiled, relieved to be free of whatever strange prison she had seemingly been trapped in.

Draco realized that he must have been staring for quite some time because both Coral and her new daughter were looking at him with slight unease. He cleared his throat. "Glamour Charm?" he guessed, not even bothering to apologize for his lack of manners. He was well-aware that staring was rude, but what other reaction could they have possibly expected?

Coral nodded. "You're exactly right, Draco. It's an extremely complex Glamour Charm. I didn't want to do this to her every year, but her father insisted. He didn't want boys to distract her from her studies or, ahem, get her into _trouble."_

"Yeah, and his absolute _best _solution was to have me run around as a midget eight months a year," Andrea said, rolling her eyes. Draco was oddly pleased in realizing that her voice –and her terrible accent- had remained intact. While the crass drawl was still grating as ever, there was a tiny bit of comfort in it since aside from his soon-to-be-leaving mother, it was the only familiar thing that remained in this bizarre new world.

"I can understand. It would be frightening to send a daughter off to school, especially one as beautiful as yours." Narcissa folded her hands and smiled almost warmly at Mrs. Dennington. "If she were left to roam Hogwarts like that, the young men would scarcely have eyes for anyone else!"

Andy blushed a bit and murmured a polite, transparently modest "thank you" before following her mother down a spiral staircase to the dining room with Stan and their two guests trailing behind.

Dinner went about as well as could be expected: the food was delicious and there was plenty of it, but it was painful for everyone to watch Narcissa making strained conversion and actively struggling to seem interested in what the others had to say. Andy and Stan couldn't seem to go a minute without snarking at each other and poor Coral was caught in the middle of the entire mess. Draco simply occupied himself with his roast turkey and took in the scene passively, as one watching the stage at a dinner theatre.

The meal felt like it had been dragging on for hours when finally Stan piped up through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "Hey, Drago. Do you play quidditch? 'Cuz me and some of my friends usually go out and have a match right about…" –he checked his watch- "right now."

Draco's head snapped up. "Yeah, I play. Sounds great." If nothing else, this would be a good excuse to get up from the increasingly uncomfortable dinner table. He stood. "I'll go get my… Wait a second," he muttered, sinking back down into his chair. His broom. He had left it behind assuming that he wouldn't need it. As it turned out, things were very different from what he had assumed.

"If you forgot your broom, I've got an old Firebolt that you can borrow. It's not the greatest or anything, but it's in good condition and it'll fly. Mom, can I be excused? Gonna go get Drago a broom so we can play quidditch." Upon noticing his sister's raised eyebrow, he added, "And I guess Anthill can come too."

Mrs. Dennington nodded. "Be careful out there. And watch out for your sister." That last comment earned an eye roll from both of them.

Narcissa also stood, dusting herself off as if she'd spent the last hour in someone's musty attic. "Well, I'd best be going. It was very nice to meet all of you, and I'll be sure to owl regularly. Can you show me to the fireplace, Mrs. Dennington?"

The three teenagers only stuck around long enough to see her nod before rushing out of the room.


	15. A Not-So-Friendly Game of Quidditch

Draco stood in the hallway while Andy and Stan rummaged around in the broom closet. He took advantage of his brief respite from their bickering to get a better feel for his surroundings. The house was surprisingly large and well-furnished, not even comparable to the rundown shack he had seen in his mind for the previous month. From where he stood, he could see through an open door into a bedroom painted in different shades of blue. There was a large canopy bed in the corner which was covered in stuffed animals and polka-dotted pillows. He guessed that this was Andy's room. The glimpse of a Ravenclaw crest he caught by craning his neck proved that he was right. He was starting to contrast her homey, colorful room with his own dark bedroom at home when Andy burst out of the closet, holding a broom in each hand.

"Here you go," she said, tossing one at him. "Shittiest broom in the house. You're welcome to use it until yours comes in. Beat it to hell; God knows it has been."

He caught the broom and inspected it. It was, as Stan had said, a Firebolt, and despite all the comments to the contrary, it was practically new: in better condition, even, than the Nimbus 2001 he had at home. He looked up at Andy quizzically. "_This_ is the worst broom you own?"

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers. If you don't want to use it, you can sit it out until your broom gets here. Your choice, man." Stan's voice was muffled by the half-closed door between them.

"No, it's… It's a fine broom. I'll take it," Draco said, a little uncomfortably. Firebolts were not cheap. _If this is their worst broom, I would _love _to see their best one, _he thought. His eyes drifted to the one still in Andy's hand. It was made of some kind of metal, and was built all wrong. The footholds were set straight against its white bristles, and there was some sort of strange handle at the end. He couldn't imagine how anyone would even get it into the air, much less _ride _the thing. "What is _that?" _he mumbled, more to himself than actually posing a question.

Andy took it upon herself to answer him anyway. "_This _is a Comet Skyflight," she said proudly. "Third edition. Jealous?" She smirked.

"I've never heard of it." Draco tried to make the comment sound snide, but his confidence was wavering. For the first time in his life, he felt out of place. He'd always had the best of everything, but now he had a sneaking suspicion that she had something better.

"Don't feel bad," Stan offered, stepping into the hallway with his own broom. "Most people haven't. It's a stunt broom; nobody buys those things unless they're crazy. That one's hollow aluminum all the way to the bristles. Goes ungodly fast, but it's a bitch to control."

Malfoy nodded dumbly, only understanding about one-third of what the other boy had said. "But how does it even fly if it's not made of wood? Everybody knows that wood's the only thing that can hold magic."

Andy pointed at him as a teacher would point out a mistake to a student. "Not true. Wood's the _easiest _material to hold magic. People had to go to some serious trouble to get this thing charged up, which basically makes it worth more than your life." She chuckled at his bewildered expression.

"But… How did you afford…" You could practically see smoke coming out of Draco's ears as his brain worked double time trying to find an explanation.

"My mom's a _wandmaker, _Malfoy. It's pretty simple: everybody buys wands, and we own the only wand shop around. You do the math." While she would normally be against using her status to make others feel inadequate, it felt good to finally rub the Ferret's nose in the fact that her family was every bit as wealthy and influential as his was. _Take that, you snobby prick. Turns out you're not the only one with money._

Before the conversation could go any farther, Stan butted in. "Enough talking. If we don't want to miss out on the game, we'd better get out of here."

The three ran outside, where they found a group of boys that looked about Stan's age waiting in the yard. A tall brunette broke away from the group to slap the eldest Dennington on the back. "It's good to see you again, man! How are things back in the manual realm?"

"They're alright, bro. It's just shitty that I don't get to see you guys more often. Andy's back, obviously," he added, gesturing to his sister.

The boys murmured in approval, and Andy was given a few high fives. She then grabbed Draco's shoulder and shook him a bit to point him out to the others. "Guys, this is Draco. I met him at school. He's going to be staying in Bessemer with us for the summer.

A boy with red hair annoyingly reminiscent of a Weasley piped up. "That your new boyfriend, kid?"

Andy's face contorted into something in-between a grimace and a half-smile. "Umm, no. No, Jeff. We're not together."

"Are you _sure?_ Because usually when girls bring guys home for the summer, it's because they're dating." Jeff seemed to be really getting a kick out of this.

"We are _not _dating. I kidnapped him. It's complicated." Andy suddenly realized how unconvincing the story was, even though it was true. "You know what? Just drop it," she snapped, her entire body flushing a bright shade of pink. "Get to the quidditch, cronies."

The dark-haired boy from before laughed and then nodded. "Seriously. We're not going to be able to get through a game before dark if we don't get started. Jamie couldn't make it, so we've still got an even number. Andy, do you and your boyfriend want to play on the same team or separate?"

"He is not my boyfriend, Rob. He is my _nemesis._" She spread out her hands and widened her eyes as though it should have been obvious.

"Right. Anyway, same team or not?"

Draco interjected. "I will not play on the same team as that troll, because I'd bet she's just as terrible at quidditch as she is at everything else." He crossed his arms and scowled at her to further illustrate his point.

Rob snickered, flitting his eyes between the new kid and Stan's irritated-looking little sister. "Ooooooh. Strong words, bro. What position do you play?"

"Seeker."

"Alright, then. Andy, you'll play seeker."

Andrea felt betrayed. "But I'm _always _a chaser. Why do I have to be the snitch bitch today?"

He grinned, his green eyes flickering in the same way her own did when she had something planned. "Easy: we want to see you kick his ass." The comment was met with several cheers of approval. He went on to point out the hoops on either side of the yard. "This side's mine, that side's Stan's. Let's get in the air."

Taking his advice, they got out the quaffle and let loose the snitch and bludgers. Once everything was in order, the game began. For the first half hour, the action was confined to the chasers and beaters, with Dennigton and Malfoy just floating around the pitch in circles and sneering at each other like two gunslingers in an old western film. As it happened, Andrea was quite talented on a broom. From watching her flit around, Draco suddenly realized the purpose of its unconventional shape. It allowed her to fly upside down without fear of falling off, as well as stand upright in the air. She glided around in spirals and loop-the-loops, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to be sure he was watching. _Showoff. _He made a point of looking unimpressed.

Rob's team was ahead 80-60 when Draco finally spotted the snitch. He made a beeline for it, fully intending to grab it in ten seconds flat and humiliate his opponent in front of her friends. Unfortunately for him, when he was only a few feet away, he heard a voice on his right side.

"Hey." There she was, floating leisurely next to him wearing that patronizing grin of hers. "You plan on catching that thing or just flying around staring at it?"

"Oh, _please. _If I hadn't spotted it, you wouldn't even have known what direction to fly."

She laughed. "You're right; my eyesight's terrible. You might want to work on faking."

"And _you _might want to work on not being a- Oof!" The breath was knocked out of him when Andy shoved into him with her shoulder, knocking him out of the way. "Did Chang teach you that, or are you just going on some misguided instinct?" When he tried to do the same, she just rolled under him. _Stupid girl with her stupid fancy broom._ After a bit more scuffling, he decided to pull a very Slytherin move: he reached over and grabbed the handle of her broom.

In hindsight, that was probably one of the most terrible split-second decisions he could have made. The girl pulled up quickly, catching the snitch while simultaneously leaving him dangling from her broom in midair. He hung on for dear life and attempted to look up at her. "Let me down!" he cried.

Andy would have been lying if she'd said she didn't relish the terrified look in his eyes. She shook her head indignantly. "Nope. That's what you get for trying to _cheat._ You'll get down when you get down."

He heard several of their teammates laugh and cheer, but none of them intervened. Unless she took some kind of pity on him, he was doomed. "Please. You can't kill me; my father will-"

She scoffed. "Your _father._ You're really going to pull the daddy card? Besides, we're not up high enough to kill you. But I bet it wouldn't feel very good…" She looked down and rubbed her chin pensively. "I'd say that's about one story. If you were to drop from this height, you'd probably break a leg… Hmm… Depending on the angle, maybe both. A couple of ribs… But unless you fall right on your neck, you won't die."

"You're crazy! _Put me down!"_

"Only if you say that I'm the best quidditch player you've ever seen, and that you yourself are a _cheating loser."_

"No! I'm not saying that!"

"Fine. I can fly around like this all day." Something in her voice told him she wasn't bluffing.

He was frantic. His arms were growing tired from the strain of holding himself up, and to make matters worse, Andy had begun weaving the broom from side to side, making it even more difficult to keep his grip. There was no room for pride in a situation like this. "Alright, alright! You, Andrea Dennington, are the most amazing quidditch player I have ever seen, and I… Am..."

She shook the broom once more. "Say it."

He sighed. "I'm a cheating loser."

That was all it took. Keeping her part of the deal, Andy veered over and deposited him onto his own broom just in time. The boys gathered around her, roaring with laughter and slapping her on the back, but Draco was too relieved to be humiliated. He flew straight back to solid ground, not even wanting to be in the air any longer. He spent the next few minutes just lying there in the grass, thankful to be safe.

He was surprised when the redheaded boy (Joe? George?) offered him a hand up. "Hey, you've got pretty strong arms, man. There's no way I could have held on that long." He grinned at him almost sympathetically. "Got on the wrong end of the firecracker, huh?"

Grabbing the hand, Draco pulled himself up and brushed the loose grass off his clothes. "You have no idea. We _met _on bad terms."

"Well, she's a loose cannon, that's for sure. But we love her." He waved up at her as if to demonstrate. "Since you're going to be trapped with her for a while, here's some advice: fireproof _everything._"

"Err… Fireproof?" The blonde thought he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Yeah. She's got a little bit of a fire problem. We've all fallen victim to it at some point. But trust me. As soon as you get back in that house, have Stan fireproof all your stuff."

Malfoy nodded, remembering their little encounter in Ravenclaw tower. _So it's more than heat. There's fire, too? Brilliant. Just bloody brilliant._ He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this?" While he knew Jim-Jerry-Whatever wasn't lying, there was no gain for him in being helpful.

"Look, kid. I don't know what you did to her, but I wouldn't wish Andy's wrath on anybody. She's not hateful, but she _has _got a temper. And she's incredibly clever. So whatever you did to piss her off, it's probably best you not do it again." He smacked him in the back of the head. "And stop cheating at quidditch; that just makes you an asshole."

Andy, who had at some point gotten tired of flying around, strolled over to the pair. "Come on, _loser._ It's getting late. See you around, Jeff." She ran to catch up to her brother and motioned for him to follow.

The blonde boy shuffled towards the house, rubbing the back of his head.


	16. Blonde Hair

"Dennington, I seem to have forgotten my broom outside. Would you be a help and go fetch it for me?"

Andy raised a blonde eyebrow. "I'm not your _help_, Dweebus. You're welcome to _go fetch it _yourself," she smirked, mocking his accent.

Draco resisted the urge to do the same. He _needed _to get her out of the house long enough for him to speak to her brother. He swallowed the few remaining remnants of his pride and attempted to be civil with the Fire Crab. "I'm sorry… Andy. That's not what I meant. I'd really appreciate it if you would run outside and get it for me. I was hoping we might…" he forced a smile, hoping it didn't look as contrived as it felt, "try to get along for the duration of this little vacation."

"We _are _getting along, Malfoy." She tossed her head in his direction, grinning impishly. "This is me getting along with you. Honestly, it's the nicest I've been to anybody in a long time." She punched him playfully in the arm as she turned back to the door.

"I'm absolutely flattered," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that, loser?"

"Nothing."

Once Andy was out the door, Draco rushed to catch up with Stan. "I've a favor to ask of you."

"Ask away, old chap," the older boy replied in a terrible fake British accent, his eyes shimmering the same mischievous shade of blue as his sister's.

_I am _not _living with this for the rest of the summer, _Draco thought. "Well, I understand that Andrea (pronounced _ayn-_dray-uh_)_ is a somethin' of a hot-headed gal. I reckon I was gonna ask you to fireproof my luggage so's it wouldn't get torched," he said in the best caricature of a Southern drawl he could muster. He moved back a step and crossed his arms, proud of himself.

Stanley laughed. "You know what, kid? You're alright. Don't worry about your stuff; we put a fireproofing charm on everything that comes in the house. Got tired of losing furniture every time little Andy had a temper tantrum. I'd say Mom's already done it, but I'll go check."

"Check what?" Andy asked as she opened the door.

"Uhh, to see if Mom's still asleep. Yeah, I'm gonna go do that. Why don't you show Draco around the house?"

She narrowed her eyes, clearly suspicious. "You'd better not be creeping off to mess with my stuff. I don't want a repeat of the _Barbie incident._"

"Andy, that was eight years ago!"

"Whatever. I'm just saying, if you touch my Beanie Babies, you're _dead._"

Stanley rolled his eyes and trudged up the stairs. The other two made a trip through the entire first floor of the house: kitchen, dining room, library, den, and several spare bedrooms. Draco had to admit he was impressed with the size and décor of the place. As they returned to their starting point and started upstairs, Andy commented, "Don't get used to any of this; we're not going to be staying here."

Draco blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, we're leaving for Bessemer in the morning. That's where my dad lives."

"Why does he not live here, with your mother?"

She scrunched up her face, trying to think of the best way to explain. "He's a Muggle. When Mom and Dad got married, they had to get a bunch of government permits for him to live here with her. When they got divorced-"

"Divorced?"

"Yeah. He couldn't stand to be around all the magic; guess he felt left out or something. Anyways, they got divorced just as Stan was about to start at the Salem Institute, so they didn't do anything to his memory."

"That's… Terrible." Draco almost felt sorry for Ms. Dennington, getting seduced by some Muggle Casanova only to be left heartbroken later on. Then again, he supposed, that should have been expected from a Muggle. The woman honestly should have known better.

Andy shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine, really; I was just three when they split up. It's not like I have any happy memories of them being together or anything. I do worry about Mom, though."

"Why?"

"She, um… I don't think she'll ever get over it." She wrung her small hands uncomfortably before changing the subject. "This is my room here. You can come in and look at it if you want."

He followed her in and watched her toss herself face-first onto the only clear spot on the bed. "You know, Dennington, I wouldn't have pegged you for the kind of girl that would be so interested in toys."

She rolled over and stuck out her tongue at him. "They are _not _toys. They are _Beanie Babies, _and they are _collectible._"

"Whatever you say, Troll." He sat down in a reading chair beside the window and watched her pull pins out of her white-blonde hair. She shook it out and let it fall in loose curls all the way to the bed beneath her, pooling up around her knees like the train of a wedding dress. Draco found himself wondering how long it was, exactly, and whether it felt as silky as it looked. He cleared his throat. "Your hair is beautiful."

She fell back against the pillow and giggled. "Oh? Does it make up for my troll-face?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he got up from the chair and crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed, continuing to watch her in silence for another few moments before speaking. "I think it does," he said finally, his voice barely audible. He cleared his throat again. "I have no particular prejudice against half-bloods. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Malfoy. Forgive me for not correcting you while you were insulting me. Guess I never found your approval a priority." Her clear blue eyes pierced into him before drifting closed. "Look, dude. I'm really tired, and you're starting to freak me out with all your staring. Your room's across the hall; please tell me you'll be able to find it by yourself."

"Of course." He rose from the bed and made his way to the door. As he reached for the handle, he turned around and shocked himself. "I hope you sleep well, Dennington. I'll see you in the morning."


	17. Sneaking Snake

Draco changed into his pajamas and sprawled out on the unfamiliar bed. He didn't bother trying to delude himself into thinking he would be able to get comfortable; as lavish as the Dennington house was, it was still much too different from his own home. He tossed and turned, complaining inwardly that the room was too warm, the blankets too thin, and the atmosphere far too cheerful. He briefly wished he had taken Andy up on her offer in the common room, but it was too late for that now. He was already trapped in the clutches of a psychopath whose idea of friendly affection was dangling someone fifteen feet in the air. He sighed and silently bemoaned his hopeless situation.

_Fucking Dennington. _The mere thought of her exhausted him. He remembered how beautiful she had looked when she had taken her hair down, smiling and carefree as she shook out the silvery tresses with her pale fingers. For a few seconds, she had looked soft, gentle, _alluring._ However, Draco knew from experience that she was none of those things. Her eyes, her hair, and her pouty pink lips were all just expertly-crafted ornate details on a vial full of poison. It was a cruel trick, really. Despite this being the case, he reasoned that there was nothing wrong with finding her attractive; perhaps it would be a slight restitution for her insufferable personality. After all, even portraits painted by maniacs could be enjoyed if one didn't dwell on their origin.

The Slytherin had been having his conversation with himself for a little over a half an hour when he heard the soft _click_ of a door being opened. _It's probably just the house settling, _he thought. But just as he was about to write the noise off, there it was again: the barely distinguishable sound of a door -being closed this time, he assumed- very carefully, by someone who didn't want others to hear. He sat up in bed and strained his ears. He could make out faint, tiptoed footsteps that started just outside and padded down the hall a couple yards. _Click, creak, click: _another door, followed by more footsteps that grew fainter as they moved towards the staircase.

It didn't take much thinking for him to realize that Andy was sneaking out. He made up his mind to follow her: perhaps he'd discover some dirty secret to blackmail her with later. When it sounded like she was almost to the bottom of the stairs, he crept out of his own room and slunk stealthily after her.

She had made it out the front door and was just about to quietly shut it when she felt the doorknob turning from the other side. _I'm fucked, _she thought. _It's Mom for sure. She's going to kill me. _She clutched the broom she'd grabbed on her way out and began accepting her impending doom… But it wasn't her mother that slid out the door. It was Malfoy. He opened his mouth to speak, but she gestured wildly for him to stay quiet. Pressing her back to the wall, she shuffled over to the corner of the house and peeked around before motioning for him to follow her. He did.

"Why'd you bring me over here?" he whispered.

Andy lifted the broom in her hand and brandished it at him. "I didn't _bring _you anywhere," she hissed. "You followed me because you can't keep your damn ferret nose out of other people's business. I'm only letting you come with me because at this point you're already out of the house, and if you screw up getting back in we're both toast. So what you're going to do is you're gonna get on this broom with me, and we'll-"

"No!" Draco snapped, rather loudly, before he could stop himself. Bringing his voice back down to a whisper, he continued, "I'm not getting on a broom with you, Dennington; you're insane. Who's to say you won't let me fall to my death?"

She rubbed her temples. "Look, Shitbrick. I don't have time to assuage all your fears about flying with me. It's the middle of the night, and all I want to do is fly up into that tree over there," –she pointed- "smoke until I feel sick, and then go back to bed. You wouldn't have had to be bothered with _any _of this if you weren't such a nosy brat." He could see a few red sparks flying from her hands as she glared at him before she mounted the broom and gestured for him to climb on.

Against his better judgment, Draco sat down on the back of the broom and steeled himself. He was pleased to discover that Andy was taking special care to fly slowly as they drifted up to the tree she had pointed out. Once she had found a branch she liked, she halted in midair. "We're gonna sit here." It sounded a bit more like a command than a statement, so he stepped off the broom.

She curled up on the branch herself, leaning up against the trunk of the tree, and reached into the breast pocket of her pajamas to withdraw a small white tube. "Thank God," she said, looking at the tiny thing as though it were the key to her very sanity before sticking it in her mouth and pinching the end. A bright orange glow appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "I haven't had a cigarette since I got up this morning." A thick, grey cloud of smoke floated from her lips as she talked.

"What is that thing? It smells terrible," Draco whispered.

"You know, you can quit whispering now. Unless you shout, nobody's going to hear you." She smirked at him, taking the tube from her mouth and holding it between her fingers. "This is a cigarette. It's one of the few simple pleasures left in the world." She closed her eyes and sat there quietly for the next several minutes, occasionally blowing another foul-smelling puff of smoke out of her mouth. When the first tube became too short, she flicked it away and withdrew another from her pocket. It was as though she had completely forgotten that he was there.

When the silence became too much for him, Draco spoke up. "So, I'm assuming this is something you shouldn't be doing," he said, shifting his weight on the tree branch.

"Yep. Mom would beat my ass if she ever found out. You have to be eighteen to buy these," she stated.

"Then where do you get them?"

She shrugged. "Stan, mostly. If he's not around, I pay one of his friends. It's pretty easy to get ahold of 'em."

"Why would you _want _them? They're disgusting!" He eyed the cigarette in her hand with distaste.

"Well, it's kind of a funny story; you see, they're this addictive little Muggle cure-all. They cheer you up when you're crabby, calm you down when you get upset, and after you've had enough of them, going without one starts pissing you off." She pulled one from her shirt pocket and offered it to him. "Want to try one?"

Draco wrinkled his nose. "Absolutely not."

"Fair enough," she said, flicking her own away. "I'm done anyways, so it's all the same. I'll fly you over to your window so all you have to do is climb in."

He nodded. They flew around to the opposite side of the house, and Andy helped him crawl back into his room. "Goodnight, Dennington," he whispered, standing just on the other side of the window.

"Night, Malfoy." She started to fly away, then halted suddenly. "Hey, don't tell Mom any of this shit. Got it?"

He nodded. "Of course not. We're _getting along_."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. We're _friends _now," she chortled. "How could I have forgotten that? Well, guess I'll see you in the morning, _Bestie."_ She was still laughing as she drifted out of Draco's view.


End file.
